I don’t know about you, but the image of Rachel Goldberg Polin begging for the release of her son, will be seared forever in my mind.
She looked so tiny on that vast stage, tiny but resolute.
I was amazed, as I always am when I hear her speak.
She is emotional, articulate and heart stirring in her words.
How did this woman whose life was defined by family, find the courage to take to the world stage to argue on behalf of her child?
It’s love.
The eternal love a parent feels for their child.
No matter what.
In this week’s portion which is entitled Eikev. It is a portion which contains some threats against the Jewish people if they do not behave properly. But it is also a parsha which mentions often the word Ahava, or love.
Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi points out that the portion opens with a verse exhorting the Jewish people to follow in Gds ways, then Gd will love you and bless you.
It is interesting that the verse delivers the message to the Jewish people to follow Gds commands in the plural form, but the second part of the verse which describes the reward, the word for love is written in the singular.
Our Sages teach us that love is personal. It’s a unique relationship. Therefore the love that will be felt will be personal.
This is evident in the portion as Moses lists some of the miracles that happened in the desert which prove Gd’s love for each individual.
For example, during the wanderings in the desert the clothing the Jewish nation wore did not wear out.
That is such a small detail.
It harks to the love a parent has for a child to care for their every need and make sure that not only are they dressed, but the clothing is immaculate and fresh.
No child was left behind.
No one was forgotten.
Rabbanit Yemima shares that one of her childhood fears was that her mother left her behind on a bus.
It’s not an uncommon feeling.
My mother was delayed once and came just a few moments late to pick me up at the bus. I was in first grade and I can remember the incident so clearly, the panic of abandonment so firmly embedded in my mind.
(And the whole drama lasted no more than five minutes!)
We may have a fear of being forgotten not only by our loved ones, or maybe existentially, we may feel overlooked by Gd Gdself.
But the Parsha reassures us that Gd is faithful in love to us, as long as we don’t forget about Gd.

So how do we go about remembering Gd?
Rabbanit Yemima shares the insight of a psychologist who was addressing the fearful situation of a loving parent accidentally forgetting a child in a vehicle. The therapist explained that the forgetting does not happen when a parent leaves the car, it happens when the parent puts the child in the car.
Unfortunately we can all relate to the harried parent who is juggling a million things, trying to get somewhere important with a time crunch and having no recollection of putting the child in the car in the first place.
The professional suggested that when placing the child in the car a parent should say out loud “I am putting Gertrude in the car”. The declaration will make an impression and create awareness.
The verbal declaration creates awareness.
If we want to create awareness of Gd and recognize all the blessings we have in our lives, we need to make a verbal declaration
We can make a blessing.
Before we eat, we can make a blessing thanking Gd for our food and drink.
We can make a blessing after we eat.
The list of blessings is as comprehensive as the blessings of our lives.
And making a statement out loud ingrains in our minds the scope of the blessings and that the source of blessing is Gd.
Day 321
We know that Rachel Goldberg Polin starts her day by writing the number on a piece of masking tape and affixing it to her clothing.
And every day she makes a declaration out loud to her son.
She says to him
“Hersh, we love you, stay strong, survive!”
May the power of that declaration, her mother’s love and her prayers bring him home now.
Please Gd!
Shabbat Shalom and so much love.